1. Technical Field
This application relates to lighting devices and, more particularly, to the programming of a controller within a lighting device.
2. Related Art
Flashlights and other types of lighting devices (e.g., headlamps or others) using light emitting diodes (LEDs) are rapidly replacing conventional sources of illumination such as incandescent bulbs. LEDs are significantly more efficient than incandescent bulbs and thus offer greater illumination power and battery life. Moreover, LEDs are typically less fragile and are thus more robust than incandescent bulbs. The incorporation of LEDs has not been the only major recent technological advance in the lighting device arts. For example, LED-based lighting devices may now include a controller such as a microcontroller or a microprocessor.
The addition of a controller enables the lighting device to be programmed to regulate the power supplied to the LED as a function of a switch actuation from the user as well as the battery condition. Moreover, the microcontroller provides various modes of operation. For example, a lighting device may include an SOS mode, a power-saving mode, or other modes. Indeed, the nature of the operating modes is only limited by the programmer's ingenuity. Although the addition of a microcontroller thus enhances lighting device's operation, a user typically has no means of re-programming the microcontroller to customize the lighting device to their particular needs. In that regard, the addition of a suitable input programming port such as a universal serial bus (USB) port to provide programming access to the microcontroller would add additional expense.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for providing improved lighting device programming access.